Cichanoŭskaja condemns Tut.by trial

January 9, BPN. Belarusian opposition leader Śviatłana Cichanoŭskaja has condemned the trial of Tut By Media CEO Ludmiła Čekina, editor-in-chief Maryna Zołatava and other employees of the news portal crushed by the authorities.

“Maryna Zołatava, Ludmiła Čekina and all Tut.by employees are the pride of Belarusian journalism,” Cichanoŭskaja said on Telegram. “They did more for Belarus than all the propagandists, prosecutors, security guards and other minions present in the courtroom. In any normal state, they would receive awards for their professionalism, rather than being imprisoned. But Belarus is not a normal state today.”

She said that “every state needs independent and honest journalists to draw attention to problems and solve them.” Instead, Alaksandr Łukašenka’s regime “hires propagandists to create a supposedly beautiful picture of the state,” and “those who dare to tell the truth are repressed, tortured and intimidated,” she added.

The Minsk City Court began to hear the Tut.by case on January 9, behind closed doors. Apart from Zołatava and Čekina, prosecutors accused several other former employees of the portal: politics and economy editor Volha Łojka, journalist Alena Tałkačova and legal adviser Kaciaryna Tkačenka. The latter three did not show up for the hearing. They left Belarus after their release from custody, a source told BPN.